COLLUSIVE Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

collusive

adjective

Definition of collusive

as in conspiratorial

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of collusive The nine-month investigation documented a decade-long legal drama involving shell companies, trusts, allegedly collusive lawsuits and bankruptcy petitions. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 31 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for collusive

Adjective

The worst outcome of this would be the coming to power of an extreme, right-wing, conspiratorial, anti-immigrant, anti-European, anti-NATO, anti-the-alliance-of-democracy government.

— Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
He’s steeped in these platforms, professionally invested, and not prone to conspiratorial concerns about insider trading or game fixing.

— Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of conspiratorial

Adjective

The arrest, the official explained, came after the Attorney General’s Office concluded that there had been misconduct in an April operation in which state officials dismantled a clandestine drug-manufacturing laboratory.

— Mauricio Torres, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Bridgers’ tour restricts phones, so the reader’s account had to stand in for the clandestine photo that might otherwise have accompanied the sighting.

— Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of clandestine

Adjective

But how and through whom the money flowed into the Alpha account revealed that it was intended to remain secret, more akin to a covert and illicit scheme, given that it was managed in part by a senior advisor to the president of the United States.

— Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Even in scenes outside Sonny’s perspective, Ellen still looks like not-quite-Connie Britton, fielding suspicious phone calls and making covert trips to the bank.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of covert

Adjective

Many hosts report resistance, in the forms of surreptitious card-shuffling and outright complaints.

— Judith Martin, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2026
To unearth these surreptitious practices, Gamers Nexus partnered up with independent security researchers and Level1Techs.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of surreptitious

Adjective

American technology giant Qualcomm announced plans this week to execute a new round of global layoffs, though exact figures remain undisclosed.

— , CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Flyers forward Tyson Foerster returned to the lineup after a one-game absence because of an undisclosed injury.

— CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of undisclosed

Browse Nearby Words

collusions

collusive

collusively

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Collusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collusive. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of collusive

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

milieu

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes